Manjar Branco – A coconut pudding

Manjar Branco is an old favorite of mine. A coconut pudding very commonly found in other cultures and known as Blancmange, blamesir, coconut flan. You name it.

For some reason mum used to prepare it only for our Christmas festivities so this simple dessert became a traditional dish in my family. In fact, mum has used the same jelly mold for ages to give it that very specific shape.

This coconut pudding is a refreshing dessert, very light in the mouth and it’s texture is almost like a firm custard.

So few days ago I found online that same vintage jelly mold of mum’s, except in a different colour. I ended up buying it and here it is this simple dish that brought me back some memories of my childhood, helping mum to decide which shaped lid we would use for the manjar branco on that Christmas.

Can I ask if the Manjar Branco is meant not to have sugar in it? I have read the recipe a few times now n sugar seems to be missing. The manjar Branco I had in a Brazillian restaurant here is sweet without the addition of sugar. If I want to use sweetened condensed milk in the recipe to give it that sweet milky creamy texture, how much should I add? Thank you

Hi Reeze, thanks for visiting my blog.
My family’s recipe don’t actually has any sugar on it. The manjar is supposed to turn out very creamy and light on texture, similar to a pannacotta. Then the sugar syrup on top is what gives that punch that you are probably talking about.
I thing condensed milk will taste great but not sure if it would be just a bit heavier from a texture perspective. Having said that, it’s definitely worth a try so let me know how you go!